KRC WILL NOT CONTINUE SCHEDULED RACES THIS SUMMER
Area
Racers,
I have decided to no longer schedule Summer Parking Lot
Racing in the Grand Forks area. It has cost me too much and I can no longer do
it without assurance enough participate to cover expenses. This does not mean I am giving up on R/C Racing
here, it just means that I
will not be the organizer that finds places to race at and sets up a race
schedule there for Outdoor On-Road anymore. I will still run races for you guys
as a hired company to only provide Professional Race Management Services. Your
race, your arrangements, your track. Whether or not these places will be used by
permission and have liability insurance is your concern also though. More on
that on my AREA ACTIVITIES web site
page and in the Grand Forks On-Road topics of the KRC Forum if you are
interested.
I would like to look at it this way, I work for you guys. You
guys hire me to run a professional race, for your benefit. I am several
thousands of dollars short from ever being able to recover my investment costs
to do to this for us, not counting the value of my time. Losing more money on
running races is not an option. I may never be able to
recover my losses, but I like the hobby and thought it would do better here with
some help. I am here for you guys/gals, (Racers) but need you to be here for me
also. Any questions? Please submit
them by clicking here.
R/C RACE SHOP TALK
TO HAVE ORGANIZED RACING, THINGS MUST BE ORGANIZED...
It has become clear already with this first parking lot race that some un-bending rules need to be laid out and followed to the "T". This is old news to me and most older R/C Race Veterans, but is something that must be addressed. Once we get going and more people join in, the action will need to be kept rolling so that at least two heats and the mains can be run and we get done early enough. At this point, I DO NOT want to be starting races on Sundays before noon because of church and other reasons.
I was at fault for not getting races started right away on June 12th. This resulted in one person dropping out. I am sorry for that, but it was necessary to work the bugs out of the new cargo trailer based race setup. I think I have most of that under control now and can get races running by around 12:30PM from this point on. The question is, can you drivers get registered and ready by 12:00PM? Let's talk about this and work it out.
I will be on site with the track and all equipment by 11:00AM. The track setup will be the shared responsibility of the Racers to put as you like. The layout will be up to you guys to set up as you like, but remember that my race trailer must stay near the City Hall Building to get power without too much extension cord length. I will open up the Race Trailer immediately so you guys can get out the track equipment. Then, you set up the track and I will set up the race systems. I will also have entry forms ready right away for sign-ups. All racers that expect to get into the first round of heats MUST have their entry form handed in by 12:00PM. Those that are not in line to enter by 12:00PM may not get into the first round. If I am free to concentrate on setting up the mains by 12:10PM, I will be able to get set up by 12:30PM and print out the heats. We can then have a short drivers meeting and start the races.
WHAT NEEDS TO BE EXPECTED OF EVERYONE DURING THE RACES
Some are not going to agree with these rules, but trust me, this is how things need to be. Definite rules must be decided on as to how much time is going to be allowed before the master race clock starts each race and how long each race will run. Let's say we decide the pre-race countdown is to be 5 minutes and the races will also be 5 minutes. That will mean that once any racers heat or main is up, he/she will have 5 minutes to get the correct transponder assigned in their model, get it running, out on the track and cross the pickup loop once to check to see if their transponder is checking properly before the race is started automatically by the program. Heats will be IFMAR, so everyone has their own clock in to start their qualifier when they cross the Start Line. (pick-up loop or bridge) Realize this though, you will only get in your full 5-minutes to qualify if you cross the loop to clock in before any other racer in that heat gets in a lap. What this means is if you cross the loop due to any problems getting started 1 minute after the first racer got in a full lap, you will only get the four minutes left to run that heat. The mains line-start immediately when the race countdown clock hits "0:00". No one can cross the starting line before the start tone or a false-start will be done to restart the race. A racer can put in to late-start, but when the race clock hits "0:00" the race is over once all cross the loop. This extra time allowed for racers to finish their laps after the race clock hits "0:00" is considered the "Print Delay" by the race program and is actually additional to the race time. I generally set this at 30 seconds. If I see that everyone is done before that, I can hit terminate it before then to save time.
Racers, we cannot be "nice" and wait for anyone if they are not ready when their race time starts. If we wait for anyone, it is only fair that we wait for everyone. This can easily mean the difference of being able to run 3 heats and a main and only being able to run one heat and a main in a race day. I am assuming that on our Sunday Races, we are all looking to have racing started at 1:00PM at the latest and be done with the mains by 6:00PM. This gives us 5 hours. Let's say we end up with 10 heats. We have the system set for 5-minute pre-race delay with a 5-minute race time and a 30 second print delay. 5 + 5 + .5 = 10.5 per heat. 10 heats at 10.5 minutes each will take 105 minutes. With these settings if we got started by 1:00PM, ran two heats and a main with no breaks besides printing out the mains, we could not get finished before 6:30PM without shaving time off somewhere. This would be if drivers kept on the ball allowing earlier starts to happen and/or the number of races were less by putting more racers together in heats and mains. Any questions?
The only way we can predict time factors is if we do not vary from the schedule. There are no excuses for not being ready for your heats or mains aside from your own technical or organizational problems. My systems tell you everything including what race number you are in and what transponder number you are to use. I will boost up the sound level to try to get so racers can hear announcements better, but not knowing when your race is up is not any reason to hold up a race for anyone. You must keep track of the day for yourselves. I have done everything possible to help you with this including the digital displays. If you are in Race #4 and Race #3 is running, you can't come up to me and complain that you did not know when you were up because that 4' display constantly shows you that information. If you have any questions or comments on these race management issues, please let me know.
Best regards,
Kevin Altepeter (Race Director)
R/C ON-ROAD RACE FEES
Entry fee will be $10
for the first class and $6 for second class and $4 for additional
classes. Direct family members are considered additional to the parent’s fees.
No one can get a refund on their entry fee after their first heat is started. We
do everything possible to get through the race day before 6:00PM, but later
completion times can happen, so please be sure to be able to stay later if
needed. We cannot give refunds if you decide you must go before your main runs.